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As- the season when the Nativity oc
curred was so uncertain, it naturally
follows that many . of the popular ideas
about the birth of Christ are erroneous,
due not a little, no doubt, to the fact
that the numerous painters of the Na
tivity have each sought to depicture the
scene as though it had occurred in their
country under, conditions that prevail
in December in the various parts of Eu
rope ; at that Eeason of the year. Thus
we I have \ pictures ."of " the !: Holy Family
under a shed . that , looks not unlike a
California" co wbarn, r open on all sides ;
we have pictures of a stable set up
against the side of a hill, and, if it is a
northern artist, we have almost invari
ably snow on the roof, oblivious of the
fact that there Is no snow in . Palestine,
¦ and ' that winter ; is the • rainy season
there;;" indeed, one .of the chief argu
ments advanced against the date of De-
which Christ was born. In tha East
January ,6 seems to have been the
most_ popular date, , but in different
place's and according to different au
thorities, Christmas has been celebra
ted in every month in the year; in July
and August as well as January, March
and December, and even In the same
month it was celebrated on different
days, and, indeed, as late as 1644 the
English Parliament abolished tha
Christmas festival, declaring that.it
was well known that Christ was born,
not in December, but in September or
October.'
The facts are that when Joseph and
Mary arrived at Bethlehem they found
the inn so crowded .that they could get
no accommodations, and as they must
have been. very poor they wandered out
to the suburbs, of the town looking for
a place to pass the " night. They : saw v
the stable and, probably attracted by
the hay and straw, went In to pass the
night; the' manger was hewn out of
the solid rock, and as It, presumably,
was filled with hay when: the child .was
born It was naturally laid there, aa the
most { convenient 'crib, by ,tho mother.
The only ( occupants of the stable be
sides Joseph and Mary were an ox and
an ass, or as we would say in Califor
nia, a burro; and It .was for years an
English superstition that all over" the
world oxen and. asses" went on . their
knees = at midnight Christmas.
To-day the site of -the stable is oc
cupied by a magnificent church erected
by the Empress Helena, the mother of
the ; Emperor Constantlne.' The "church
is in the shape of a cross.. The "nave .Is
ornamented ". by forty-eight • columns,
each eighteen feet high. The roof was
cember 25 for Christmas was that that
time in the Holy Land Js. the rainy sea
son and it is not llkerjrjthat the shep
herds could be out on the hills tending
their flocks In the rain, or that the au
thorities would have. selected such .an
unfavorable time of the year to oblige
the people to travel to the places of en
rollment.
Nazareth, into Judea to the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem, be
cause he was of the house and family
of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his
espoused wife, who was -with child."
That, apparently, is clear enough, if
the date of a census ordered by Augus
tus and taken Cyrenius can be ascer
tained; but unfortunately there , were
three censuses ordered by the Emperor,
the data for which from Syria" was pre
pared and collected by Cyrenius.
Naturally, the first Christians con
tinued to fix their „ dates, as they had
been accustomed to do before the birth
of Christ, counting, if Jews, from the
Creation; if Romans, from the found
ing of their city; If Greeks by Olym
piads, and for five centuries there were
no Annos Domini; then Dionysis Exi
guus, a Roman abbot. Invented the
present style and by. an elaborate^ sys
tem of calculation placed the birth of
Christ in the ,year 764 of Rome and
the fourth year of the 194th Olympiad,
1903 years ago.'
Dionysis reached his conclusion by
fixing the data of the crucifixion, . and
counting back r thirty- three years, that
being the age of ; Christ, but; subse
quent ; commentators have shown that
he made an error of some four years
and that ' he should : have . begun the
Christian era that much sooner.
> But the -; question as - to , the", exact
year ¦? was trifling "compared to the
question of the month and day upon
MOST of the good people who
will go to church on Christ
mas day would tell you, if
you asked them, that they
were celebrating the 1903d anniversary
of the birth of Christ, yet the facts are
that they are undoubtedly several
years wrong in the number of years
they suppose to have elapsed since
the advent of the Redeemer, and are
probaBly no more accurate when they
suppose him to have been born on De
cember 25.
Prom the best and most authoritative
sources it seems likely that Christ was
really born in the year B. C. 5, and that
dating the Christian era from the first
day of the following January this
should be the year 1907 Anno Domini,
and not the year 1903.
Both profane and sacred history* tell
us that the Emperor Augustus ordered
a census of . the Roman Empire, and
that for the purpose of enrollment all
the inhabitants were directed to go to
the~dty or town to which they or their
families belonged. That is why Joseph
and Mary went to Bethlehem, and why
that little village. Instead of Nazareth,
was the birthplace of Christ. For the
Bible says (Luke " II, 1-4): "A decree
went forth from Augustus Caesar that
the whole world should be enrolled.
And all went to be enrolled, every one
Into his own city. And Joseph . also
went up from Galilee, from the city of
originally covered with lead, but this
was torn off by the Turks and melted
Into bullets; lately, however. It ha«
been replaced. Owing to the endless
warring of the Greek and Latin Christ
ians over the holy places of Palestine
all the principal churches are divided
between them, the Church of tha Na
tivity among the rest. The Armenian
Catholics, who are united to tha Roman
church, have the nave, while the Greeks
control the arms and upper part of the
cross or choir, a wall separating the
nave from the rest of the church. In
the sanctuary or choir is an altar dedi
cated to the s wise kings or magi, and
right in front of it ia a large marble
star set in. the floor. It ia a tradition
that the star of Bethlehem stopped over
this point; at any rate the birth of
Christ took place directly under it In
the grotto below, which is the stable
where Joseph and Mary sought shelter.
You descend in the grotto down fif
teen steps by a spiral staircase. The
stable is thirty-seven and a half feet
long by eleven wide and nine high. It
is hewn out of solid rock and its sides
are covered with costly marble." There
is no natural light, but the place is
lumlnated by thirty-two lamps of won
derful design, presents from various
European Princes. The lamps are kept
continually burning.
' At the farther end of the grotto, on
the east side, is the place of the birth
of the Savior, marked by a marble slab.
DISPUTED QUESTION OF EXACT DAY OF SAVIOR'S BIRTH
in the hurry of the mid-day maal may
not notice that you are buttering great
slices of bread every time you want a
piece.
That Isn't considered nice these day*.
If you haven't a small plate that serves
both for bread and butter, take the
bread and break it into bits with one
hand. Not like the small boy whose
mother told him it wasn't nice to but
ter a whole ellce, but a little piece at
a time. He thought the proposition
over carefully and planned to surprise
her at dinner. When she was busy
serving vegetables, he took a piece of
bread, laid it on the table and care
fully cut it into squares, about sixteen.
Then he buttered each one and lined
them up in a straight row and leaned
back, perfectly satisfied with his work.
It goes without . saying that ha sur
prised his mother, but don't plan to do
like wine. That Is even worse- than but
tering tha slice. Break off a bit when
you want it, but don't crumble into
small pieces, for that *iv«s the table
an untidy appearance.
If I were a small bey or «lrl I
should feel positively Insulted to have
Watch your knife and fork with all
your eyes, for ft is so easy to grasp
hold of the handle too far down if the
chop is hard to manage. After a sec-,
ond or two down gores your head and
out fly your arms and you look for all
the world as though you were intent
on killing snakes instead of cutting
meat
Probably at some time or other you
have seen laborers eating in a great
hurry. They pile up a quantity of meat
and potato on a thin fork, place it di
rectly in front of their mcuths and
then let their arms shoot forward like
a ramrod out of a gun. Pleasant, clean
ly table manners add a great deal to tho
enjoyment of a meal among people of
refinement, and to many the lack of It Is
infinitely worse than badly cooked or
badly served food. '
You certainly aren't enough of a
baby to need your mother's weather
eye on you all the time. She may be
busy with her guest or planning some
of the thousand and one household du
ties that fall upon her shoulders, and
Christmas dinner* are Jttrt so r?»Try
goodies and It's hard te wait potions*
ly sometimes, but there again oemaa
In your training. You dost iayjioea
for an Instant that father wvaUtnA
off to tha dining-room and sit and de*
vour tha pretty things with his eye*
do you? And you dont t>i<w\ that he
would get off Into a corner and uk
in a great, big stage whisper. "Wbail
dinner be ready? r*m so hungry."
I'm afraid ha wouldn't be brrtt*4
more than once, for even If you arc
nearly famished it Isn't polite to rosla
your hostess. She's quite as axxxloaf
to have dinner on time aa you are and
the least delay causes her untold us*
lety.
It has always beea mere er bes fl
mystery to me to know Just why bay*
fight so against going to *«»w*ngj
school. You all maka a systematlo
business of getting homo from play
a little late; it takes twice as leas t«
get dressed and then if there la a con
venient puddle you seem to take at
particular delight in seeing how muabj
muddy water you can splash on your*
selves.
But. you sea. If you have been ta tha
habit of dan cine: you wouldn't feel the
least bit bashful or awkward when you
march Into the dining-room, and evea
after you are seated you won't feel a*>
though the cat had your tongue and 4
wouldn't Klve It back. Look at Harry
Rothschild. Josephine Lindsay and lit
tle Gordon and Sophie Osborn, for in
stance. They didn't even give it a seo
ond thourht. but sat up Ilka well brad
little gentlemen and ladles.
You know, or at least you oujfct te
if you don't, that since the year one the
dally meals, eaten in company with
others, have been social as. well as gas
tronomic functions and that no matter
how busy you may be yoi will always
have to find time to eat, and tha sooner
you learn how to do it nicely without
awkwardness or embarrassment the
better for you, for let me tell you right
here that nothing is more difficult to
uproot when you are grown than little
careless habits formed at tha table In
babyhood.
Of course, everywhere you go you are
bound to find some boys and girls that
are greedy, but even If you are espe
cially fond of icecream or plum pudding
don't look at your neighbor's dish with
-envious eves to see if by any hook or
crook she has more than you have,
That Is so ill-mannered. And Just re
member one little thing about It: Prob
ably your eyes are a great deal bigger
than your stomach, and even if you
had been given more you couldn't have
gotten away with It.
Don't be In too much of a hurry to
get to the Christmas tree. Always take
plenty ot time to -?. for when you
are invited out to dine- you are not ex
pected to bolt your food and run- Be-_f
tween courses sit back leTiurely as yot^
think the President of the United
States might: and, by the wav If you
try to pattern after the first lady and
first gentleman in the land you -can't
go far wrong, and for all you know
you mieht be called upon to take bis
or her place some *".y.
A napkin spread orer &• eleth at my
place. It U entirely teo suggestive of
the small mnimai* m the bade yard
that eat from a trough and I'd
straightway show tha family that ha
was no friend er even a passing ac
quaintance of mine. And ifs the same
with the bib. Yes. It's all very well
and good to declare that you don't
wear a bib and haven't used one for
the past three years, but pray tell
what Is the napkin that finds Its way
around your neck so often, especially
when yon have your best 8unday-go
to-meetlng clothes en? It looks
strangely Ilka a bib to the uninitiated.
There Isn't any rhyme or reason for
It so far as I can sea. for you most
certainly aren't a baby and 1*11 war
rant tan to ona you'd be madder thin
a wet hen at the mere idea and be
willing to fight it out In the back
yard.
If you were Invited te a CSurtrtma*
dinner and tree wouldn't you be wild
to go? Wall. I wonder. You'd pet
•o excited over It en tha aTautful day
that you couldn't aat nor Bleep, just
trail about tha house bothering math
er to know If tt want time te get
dressed.
Of course, if you are going ot sidle
Into the room, hang your head and
scrape your toes into the rugs, she'll
be more than likely to think* you grew
on a tree in the hills, but if you run
'downstairs and very frankly shake
bands with her she'll probably think to
herself: "What a manly chap Tom is.
I'd like George to be like him," and
then you just see if there aren't good
times coming.
Of cpurse. after that if you hold your
elbows out and flourish, your arms
around like windmills she'll change her
mind, and she most certainly ought to,
for there isn't one thing that looks
quite as commonplace or as careless.
Don't lounge in your chair either. Sit
up. for you aren't a Turk, and conse
quently there isn't the least shadow of
an excuse for lying down. Besides the
meal never is long enough to tire you
out completely.
Every one can tell a little lafly or
¦rentlexnan as far as they can see them,
but there Isn't any one place that
marks them as distinctly as at the
table. If you don't believe It Just
watch yourself.
True, it isn't much fun being
dragged from the highest limb in the
cherry tree to luncheon, particularly
when there are guests, but as long as
It has to be done, it's a rattling good
scheme to do it as cheerfuly and
Quickly as possible. You see that
means the trying ordeal will be over
Just that much sooner and may be
you can beat Johnny and get the best
•eat after all.
There's one thing that should al
ways be done*before you present your
self at the table. Climbing trees and
shlnnying over back fences somehow
or other doesn't seem to make your
hands especially clean of your blouse,
either, for that matter. So run right
along to your own room and have an
animated cleaning-up bee. Ifs an
awful nuisance. I know, but suppos
ing Mrs. Guest should take a fancy to
you "and tnvite you to the theater on
Saturday with her own 'children,
wouldn't that be fine and daisy?
Haven't you seen the boy or girl
that never can be quiet a single mo
ment? Xot one? Well, I have, and I
positively heard one chap's father
offer him 60 cents if he would sit
on a chair and not move for five
minutes. Of course, he didn't win it,
for he was eternally and forever into
everything, and he couldn't help wrig
gling to save his life.
That may sound awfully easy to you,
and it might be if you were ever in
the habit of reading or even playing
doll, but if you spend your time fall
ing up and down the stairs and try
ing to see how much noise and dis
turbance you can create, I am awfully
alraid you could not win the 50 cents
either.
But I do mean to behave yourself
in such a fashion that your neighbor*
won't feel sorry to see you coming.
Don't be such a nuisance. They're
too trying for anything, and besides
you can't imagine how much fun it
bars you from.
And wouldn't you be ashamed and
wouldn't your mother feel hurt if you
could look into your friend's home
and watch" her rushing about picking
up dainty roses costly bric-a-brac
before she answered the bell. And
the uncomfortable part of it is she
wouldn't do it unless you had handled
everything in sight and kept her con
stantly in hot water for fear you
might break her pretty things.
/ I running^ mate, Mr. Man. play
M the part of really, truly
grown-up people at Christmas
- time and Bee what a heap more
fan you'll have. Don't be scared the
first rattle out of the box and Imagine
tor a single instant that I mean you
are to sit in solemn state all day long
and nee how sorrowful and meek you
can be. for that wouldn't be the least
bit nice, and ten to one you'd only
Bucceed in having the entire family at
your heels with all sorts and descrip
tions of nasty tasting: medicine?, for
they'd be sure to think that you were
terribly ill. For Christmas is the
day of days.
THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALU. —CHRISTMAS NUMBER.
ETIQUETTE FOR CHILDREN AT THE
CHRISTMAS DINNER